Rodney E. Rohde, assistant professor in the College of Health Professions, Clinical Laboratory Science program at Texas State University-San Marcos, has been nominated for the prestigious Charles C. Shepard Science Award.

Rohde was nominated--along with his co-authors--in the “Assessment and Epidemiology” category for the manuscript “Bat-associated Rabies Virus in Skunks.” The winners for the different categories will be announced during the 2007 Charles C. Shepard Science Award ceremony at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Roybal Campus in Atlanta, Ga., on June 14.

Rohde received his B.S. in microbiology and master’s in biology with an emphasis in virology Texas State. In addition to his work in the College of Health Professions, he is also a clinical assistant professor (joint appointment) in the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center’s Clinical Laboratory Science Program. Rohde also serves as an adjunct associate professor of biology in the nursing program for Austin Community College.

His research interests are very diverse but focus on public health microbiology, specifically with respect to rabies virology, wildlife vaccination, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and molecular diagnostics/biotechnology. Rohde is currently working on his Ph.D. in education. For more specific information about his projects, please see: www.txstate.edu/~rr33

Since 1985, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) have presented the Charles C. Shepard Science Award to the authors of the most outstanding peer-reviewed research paper published by CDC/ATSDR scientists during the preceding year. The award recognizes scientific achievement at CDC/ATSDR.

The award honors the memory of Shepard, whose career was marked by the pursuit of scientific excellence. In addition to honoring publications in three categories--Assessment and Epidemiology, Prevention and Control, and Laboratory and Methods--there is also an award for Lifetime Scientific Achievement.